


On My Honour

by Dedica



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: 18OI AU Week 2019: Day 4, Alpha Victor Nikiforov, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Regency, Boys In Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage of Convenience, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Omega Katsuki Yuuri, Omega Verse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 19:01:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19115788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dedica/pseuds/Dedica
Summary: Their situations might be different, but they both needed each other.When Yuuri presents the heir to the Nikiforov estate a marriage of convenience to solve both their problems Victor is thrilled. But not quite for the reasons Yuuri might expect.





	On My Honour

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my fic for the 18OI AU Week 2019! Day 4: A/B/O!
> 
> Thanks to [faeriefirefly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/faeriefirefly/pseuds/faeriefirefly) for the cheers and support and [rinablanket](https://rinablanket.tumblr.com/) for the beta!
> 
> Come join us on Discord and scream about love, life, and yoi! [18+!!! on ICE Discord Link](https://discord.gg/jRXfSXc)

_My Dearest Vitya,_

_I hope this letter finds you well as it seems my other letters have not. I know you have received my correspondences and your lack of response on this matter will no longer be tolerated. Your uncle and I tire of your games, and we feel we have given you more than enough time to find a mate on your own. We are not as young as we once were, dear nephew, and as our sole heir, your uncle demands you secure a mate by the end of the season._

_Fail to do so and he will make good on his threats._

_I know you believe you will be able to live off what your parents left you forever, but these are changing times. Until now, we let you live a lavish lifestyle in our uptown estate rent free. If we were to kick you out, a home of that size and comfort would be way out of your price point._

_We did not want it to come to this, but if you continue to ignore us, you will leave us with no choice. As I have outlined in my previous letters, I would be thrilled to help you in this matter as I know several suitable omegas who would make excellent mates. If we do not hear back from you by the end of the week, your uncle will personally come down to remind you of your responsibilities to this family and what is at stake here._

_It would be in your best interest for it not to come to this, Vitya._

_Yours cordially,_

_Lady Lilia Nikiforov_

Victor wanted nothing more than to crumple his aunt’s letter and toss it into the embers of his hearth where it belonged. Of course he knew he was on borrowed time—but he’d hoped to find a solution before things got out of hand. The last thing Victor wanted was for his uncle to come over again to try and persuade him to marry. Victor had made his opinions on the matter very clear—he wanted to marry for love.

At first, his aunt and uncle had agreed, so long as Victor informed them of his ‘progress’. Victor hadn’t understood what they meant until his aunt began sending him monthly letters inquiring about the omegas he met and if any of them were mate material. She didn’t seem to care _who_ the omegas were, as long as they were unmated and fertile. Victor quickly learned that it wasn’t about who he married, but how quickly he would produce an heir.

When his aunt and uncle were unable to produce any children of their own, Victor’s father was named heir to the Nikiforov estate. Victor was eleven when his parents died, and his aunt and uncle took him in as their own. He'd been given the best education, the best clothes, and the best of everything money could buy, but Victor felt empty.

Sure, Victor had had his fair share of lovers, but he wanted more. He did not want some docile little omega who was raised to be the mate of an alpha to decorate his arm and warm his bed. He wanted passion, love, excitement, but above all else, Victor wanted a partner. Someone who didn’t see him only as the future Lord Nikiforov but as a man who needed and desired love. Someone who he could laugh and cry with. Someone who would put his love for his family above all else.

An omega like that didn’t simply walk into your life and propose marriage on the spot. No, most omegas were cold and calculating behind your back but sweet as pie in social settings. Most of the time omegas fluttered their lashes and spoke pretty words of false promises. They were spoiled and catty and not what Victor wanted in a mate. It seemed all the good omegas were either already mated or promised to someone else.

At social gatherings, when introduced to a new omega, Victor always did his best to keep an open mind. He'd smile and ask them to dance, but their pretty dresses and giddy laughter never made Victor feel that spark he’d been searching for. Victor remembered his father’s stories of how he’d met Victor’s mother and how he knew without a doubt she was his true mate.

The idea of a true mate was a fairy tale that many dreamed of, but everyone knew was nothing more than a fantasy made up in romance novels. Those rare couples that claimed to find their true mates never had anything to prove their alleged bond and so the myth lived on as nothing more. But deep down, Victor knew that’s what he’d been waiting for. His aunt and uncle had always laughed at Victor’s parents for thinking they were true mates—even after their deaths. Victor knew that if he told them he wanted to wait to marry his true mate, they would not understand.

So that was what lead him to where he was now. His livelihood on the line for the small chance at true love. Other than his best friend, Chris, no one knew of his family’s ultimatum. If word had gotten out, there would be omegas lined up down the street to try to gain Victor’s affections. But Victor already knew all the eligible omegas in town, and he knew he wanted none of them as mates.

Victor had been weighing his options for months to no avail—one more restless night was not going to make a difference. Just as he was about to turn in for the night, there was a knock at his office door. Victor had been so lost in thought he almost didn`t hear his butler’s soft voice asking to enter.

“Come in,” Victor answered, sounding as tired as he felt.

Nikolai had been Victor’s butler for as long as he could remember. He’d watched Victor grow from a young pup to the alpha he was today—so he wasn’t afraid to put Victor in his place when he needed it. The disapproving look on Nikolai’s face told Victor someone had done something to rile the old man and Victor was in for an earful.

“Vitya,” Nikolai eyes warily scanned the papers scattered across the desk before returning to Victor’s gaze. “Are you expecting someone at this hour?”

“No?” Victor replied. “I was just about to head to bed.”

“Alone?” Nikolai’s eyebrow rose quizzically.

“Of course alone. There’s no one else here.”

The man’s expression relaxed a fraction before taking a few steps closer to Victor’s desk. "Well, in that case, there is a young omega at the door insisting he speak with you immediately. I told him to go and to make an appointment tomorrow, but he said he would not budge until you spoke with him. I reminded him of how improper any visit at this time was, but he says he's a friend of Chris’s, and it is a matter of great importance."

Out of all the things Nikolai could have said, Victor had not expected that. Of course, if anyone found out that Victor accepted the invitation of an omega in the middle of the night, there would be talk, but if he was a friend of Chris's, then there was no way Victor would turn the omega away. “Then please, bring him in.”

Nikolai gave Victor’s disordered office a once-over before huffing and leaving to escort the omega in. Victor hastily began to tidy his mess of papers and correspondence, not wanting to give his visitor the wrong impression. By nature, Victor was not a neat person, but he was not the kind of master that expected his servants to clean all his messes for him. Just as Victor shoved the last envelope into his desk drawer, Nikolai knocked again and in walked the most beautiful omega Victor had ever laid eyes on.

He wore a high collared frock with a thick hooded cloak to keep the winter winds at bay. Despite his warm attire, the omega was shivering like a leaf, setting Victor's alpha on high alert. “Oh my, you look half frozen. Nikolai, please get our guest an extra blanket and bring us some tea.”

“Please don’t trouble yourself, um, sir?” The omega’s brow furrowed as he pulled his cloak tighter around himself.

“Nonsense, Nikolai?” Victor addressed his butler, who gave Victor one last disapproving glace before he left the room. "And please, call me Victor.”

“That wouldn’t be proper.” The omega met Victor's gaze and Victor swore his heart skipped a beat. Big beautiful brown eyes brimming with worry met Victor’s, making his instincts scream to reach out and comfort the omega. 

“If we want to discuss propriety then I should ask you why you’ve arrived at this hour.”

The omega flushed, looking down at his slightly worn boots. “Chris said you’re often up at late hours of the night and what I have to discuss with you cannot wait until morning. I've travelled far to see you.” 

“Then please have a seat.” Victor gestured to one of the armchairs by the dying fire. “Any friend of Chris’s is a friend of mine…sir?” 

“Yuuri. Yuuri Katsuki.”

_Katsuki._ Victor vaguely recognized the name, but he was sure he'd never met the omega before. There’s no way he would forget his lovely features or the way his mere presence made Victor’s breathing hitch. Yuuri took a seat in one of the chairs and Victor followed. “And technically I’m a good friend of his mate, Phichit.”

Chris had met Phichit on his year abroad and the two eloped shortly after Chris had started his law practice. Their speedy, secret marriage had been the talk of the town for weeks, but Victor had always believed they’d made the right choice for them. Chris’s parents had disapproved of their son’s choice in a mate, but Chris being Chris, he did as he wished. Victor hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know Phichit all that well during their visit last spring, but Victor hoped to spend more time with his friend and mate once their honeymoon phase ebbed.

“I see, and what about your association with them brings you to my doorstep?”

Yuuri took a deep breath, as if psyching himself up. “Chris told me about your, um, situation.”

Victor felt his jaw drop at the same moment Nikolai chose to enter the room with a blanket and a tray of cheese and biscuits. “The tea will be a while coming since the stoves were turned off for the night.”

“Thank you, Nikolai, but we have no more need for tea," Victor commanded with a forced smiled to hide his surprise. “You’re dismissed for the evening.”

Nikolai placed the tray between them and handed Yuuri the blanket. “Are you sure, sir?”

“Absolutely.” Victor’s eyes did not leave Yuuri, who was now squirming in his chair. “And please close the door behind you.”

Victor paid no heed to the scowl Nikolai directed at him before doing as Victor asked. Once the door clicked shut, Victor sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You must be a very good friend of Phichit’s if Chris shared _my_ secrets with you.”

"I mean no disrespect and know he only told me the bare minimum, but please let me explain." Although Yuuri's voice did not waver, Victor could now smell Yuuri’s nerves leaking from the blockers Victor suspected the omega wore beneath his collar.

“I’m all ears,” Victor heard himself say with a tempered calm.

Yuuri reached into his cloak and pulled out a small envelope with Chris’s elegant handwriting. “I have a letter from Chris explaining everything.” Yuuri tried to hand Victor the letter, but Victor ignored it.

“If you came all this way to speak to me, darling, then I’d rather hear it from your lips.”

“Very well then.” Yuuri sighed, as if anticipating Victor’s reaction, and placed the letter on the untouched tray between them. “You and I find ourselves in very different situations that require the same outcome. A few weeks ago, I fled to Giacometti manor and begged for Christophe’s legal advice. He’s the only alpha I knew that might be willing to help me.”

“Help you how?” Victor asked, noting the exhaustion that emanated off Yuuri in waves.

"It's a long story, but I needed to know how I could adopt my late sister's unclaimed pup without being mated to an alpha.” Victor was no expert when it came to matters of the state, but even he knew Yuuri’s request was impossible. “He told me what I know you’re thinking, that there was no way I could legally adopt without a mate, but I begged him to find me a loophole.”

“Why?” Victor wondered as Yuuri wrapped the blanket Nikolai had brought around his shoulders.

Pain and determination flashed in Yuuri’s eyes as he took a moment to compose himself. “My sister was eight years older than me, so I was very young went she left home with the supposed love of her life. He was a commander in the navy and was much older than she was. My parents disapproved, but three years ago when she showed up after almost a decade at our door, beaten and pregnant, my parents welcomed her home with open arms. Mari didn’t speak much about what had happened, but we pieced together enough to know the love of her life had left her and their unborn pup for dead.”

Rage warmed Victor's blood, and Yuuri flinched at the angry pheromones that flooded the small office. Victor instantly reigned in his temper, even though his alpha was roaring at Yuuri's words. "Forgive me, Yuuri, I didn't mean to frighten you."

“That’s alright. Chris reacted the same when I told him.” Yuuri took a calming breath before continuing. “My sister was never officially mated to the bastard, so when she gave birth to their son, he could not claim a name.”

Victor nodded as he clung to every word Yuuri spoke.

“At first things weren’t so bad. My sister kept to her room most days, and I helped her care for little Kenji.” A small smile tugged at Yuuri’s lips at the mention of his nephew. “He was such a good baby. He barely cried and almost always slept through the night. Fast forward to a few months ago, and that’s when things took a turn for the worse. The well in our village became contaminated and almost everyone got deathly ill. I was visiting Phichit at the time, and when I returned home, my father had just passed, and my mother joined him a few days after.”

A tear slid down Yuuri's cheek, and Victor handed him his handkerchief from his breast pocket.

"Luckily Kenji did not get sick, and I thought my sister was getting better. We did our best to pick up the pieces and move forward without our parents. Our father had been a merchant with a modest storefront, so we sold the business and did our best to live off of what we had left. I won’t bore you with all the little details, but my sister decided to leave the village and to take a job in a factor to help make ends meet, but…” 

Yuuri's tears began to fall in earnest, and he buried his face into Victor's handkerchief. Even though Yuuri had just entered Victor's life, a part of him broke for the omega. It was true, their situations might be different, but they both needed a mate for various reasons. Yuuri wanted to hold on to his sisters’ pup, and Victor wanted to love someone like Yuuri. Chris always seemed to know Victor better than he knew himself. Aside from Victor's immediate attraction to the gorgeous omega, Chris would have known that Victor's alpha would feel fiercely protective and sympathetic to the omega’s situation.

“I’m sorry.” Yuuri dried his eyes and Victor inched his chair closer to Yuuri’s. An intense determination blazed around Yuuri, matching his steely gaze. The grief that consumed Yuuri a moment ago vanished, showing off an inner strength Victor couldn’t help but admire. If Victor wasn’t half in love with the omega already, Yuuri’s strong will and devotion would have been the tipping point for Victor. "I didn't come here to give you a sob story. I came here to give you a proposition.” 

“Oh?” Victor leaned closer and rested his hand on the arm of Yuuri’s chair. “And what might that be?”

Yuuri blushed, but his resolve was clear. "I need an alpha, and you need a mate and an heir. My heats are regular, so we shouldn’t have any problems conceiving.” The way Yuuri spoke of their possible matehood made it sound like a business deal among associates rather than a bond between partners. “My only conditions are that you adopt Kenji so that he may stay with me. You may choose to, um, look for companionship outside our marriage if you desire, but I would vow myself to you and be faithful like a real mate would.”

“Why would you say that?” That spark he’d been searching for seemed to glow now in Yuuri’s presence. So much so that the idea of betraying Yuuri like that made Victor feel queasy. Victor barely knew Yuuri, but his alpha had never desired an omega the way Victor craved Yuuri. If Yuuri was going to trust Victor to adopt his sister’s pup than Victor would honour that commitment.

“So that you won’t have to doubt your heir’s legitimacy?” Yuuri whispered.

“Not that,” Victor chuckled and Yuuri looked confused. “That you would think I would desire anyone else if I took you as my mate.”

Yuuri’s mouth dropped open as his face darkened to an alarming shade of red. “I—um, in case you find someone else, I…”

“I won’t.” Victor hesitantly raised his hand to stroke Yuuri’s tear-stained cheek. He moved slowly enough that Yuuri could have avoided him if he wanted to. Instead, Yuuri's eyes fluttered closed, and he leaned into the touch as if he’d been craving the comforting gesture. “I assume time is of the essence? Where is Kenji now?”

“With Chris and Phichit. I have a carriage waiting outside to take me back to the manor.” 

The Giacometti manor was roughly an hour carriage ride from Victor's townhouse. Chris's parents had been close friends with Victor's, and the two were practically raised as brothers. Victor was confident he could find his own way in the dark to the Giacometti manor and arrive quicker by horseback, but he didn't want to subject Yuuri to the dark roads alone. "Let me pack a bag and I'll come back with you."

“Really? Does that mean you’ll consider my offer?” The smile Yuuri gave him was the most breathtaking sight Victor had ever had the privilege of witnessing. His eyes shone with tears again, but this time out of relief and maybe a hint of joy.

“We don’t need to marry immediately, so you have some time to think about it," Yuuri continued. “As Kenji’s only relative, they will grant me the adoption if we say we’re engaged—Chris assured me. Apparently these things take time so he can arrange for me to have temporary custody as we sort out our affairs. That would buy us a few months and I’m sure it will help you with your family’s expectations as well.”

“It would,” Victor agreed, making the tension in Yuuri’s shoulders visibly subside.

“I know this is all very sudden, but I promise I will do everything in my power to make this work between us.” Victor could feel Yuuri’s sincerity and resolve in every word. Although they didn’t know each other, Victor believed they could make this work, for the both of them.

Victor grabbed Yuuri’s hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckle. “On my honour, I promise to do the same.”

Yuuri seemed shocked for a moment before Victor’s words seemed to sink in and Yuuri shot forward, wrapping his arms around Victor’s neck. Having Yuuri this close to him, Victor could smell him, despite his scent blockers. Victor inhaled deeply, feeling drunk on Yuuri’s scent and the feel of having Yuuri in his arms. They’d only just met, yet Victor felt the need to keep Yuuri close and never let go. The words _true mates_ echoed in the back of Victor’s head, but it was too soon to make such assumptions. 

“Oh,” Yuuri stepped out of Victor’s embrace to grab Chris’s letter. Victor had forgotten all about it until Yuuri handed it to him. “If you're serious about coming back with me, I'll let you go pack, but Chris insisted you read this before I go. He said you most likely wouldn’t read it until after you heard everything I had to say.”

Victor tore open the envelope and angled the paper towards the dim candlelight.

_Dear Victor,_

_I like to think I know you well enough to know you’ve just accepted Yuuri’s proposal without bothering to hear what I have to say in this letter. On the off chance you do read this letter, I want to say I would have never sent him your way if I didn’t think you two were a perfect match. I’d been meaning to introduce you two and to wait for this to develop naturally, but after hearing Yuuri's story, I think you know as well as I do that we do not have the time for that._

_Phichit and I would be honoured to witness your marriage, and by the time you get here, I will have already drafted the adoption papers for you to sign to get that process started. Knowing you, you probably will want to jump into this head first, but take some time to do this right._

_With every fibre of my being, I believe you and Yuuri will have a long and prosperous matehood that will match my own in happiness and fulfillment. But based on my conversations with my mate, Yuuri will believe you would be entering this marriage for your benefit only. I know you would never marry because your family desires it, but Yuuri does not. Show him that you want more, and I'm sure he will meet you halfway._

_With all my love and affections,_

_Sir. Christophe Giacometti,_ _ESQ_

_P.S. Remember to bring your mother’s ring._

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve started chapter 2 but it’s me so who knows when/if I’ll finish it 🙈❤️


End file.
